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Staff
Bre Duffy
Director of Responsible Research & Innovation - US
Brittany Chambers
Director of Development
Dwayne Holmes
Director of Responsible Research & Innovation - EU
Isha Datar
Executive Director
Paige Wilcoxson
Chief Operating Officer
Simon Ongom
Financial Controller
Yadira Tejeda-Saldana
Director of Responsible Research & Innovation - CA
Research Fellows
Alice Esperanza
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Bath
Boštjan Vihar
External Fellow
IRNAS
Dawne Skinner
New Harvest Research Fellow
Dalhousie University
Frea Mehta
New Harvest Research Fellow
Technical University of Munich
Irfan Tahir
New Harvest Research Fellow
The University of Vermont
Jannis Wollschlaeger
New Harvest Research Fellow
Reutlingen University
Jernej Vajda
External Fellow
Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor
IRNAS
IRNAS
Kai Steinmetz
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Auckland
The Riddet Institute
The Riddet Institute
Lily Westerhoff
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Bath
Luka Banović
External Fellow
IRNAS
Mia Keyser
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Colorado Boulder
Richard Thyden
New Harvest Research Fellow
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Boston College
Boston College
Samuel Peabody
New Harvest Research Fellow
Texas Tech University
Sophie Letcher
New Harvest Research Fellow
Tufts University
Stephanie Kawecki
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of California, Los Angeles
Ted O'Neill
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of California, Davis
Vanessa Haley-Benjamin
New Harvest Research Fellow
Newcastle University
Alumni
Abi Glencross
New Harvest Research Fellow
King's College London
2015-2017
Alexis Garrett
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
2020 - 2022
Andrew Stout
New Harvest Research Fellow
Tufts University
2017 - 2023
Ashton Davis
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of California, Los Angeles
2021
Bianca Datta
New Harvest Dissertation Awardee
2021 - 2022
Brodie Peace
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of Melbourne
2021
Cameron Semper
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Calgary
2019 - 2022
Clarisse Beurrier
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of Cambridge
2020 - 2021
Daniel Peterson
New Harvest Seed Grantee
Northeastern University
2019
Emily Soice
Research Intern
2020
Erin Kim
Communications Director
2016 - 2018
Gabrielle Floratos
Science Communications Intern
2020 - 2021
Gilonne d'Origny
Chief Development Officer
2015 - 2016
Han Zhang
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of British Columbia
2017 - 2018
Jake Marko
New Harvest Seed Grantee
Tufts University
2020 - 2021
Jeremiah Johnston
Research Program Director
2019 - 2022
Jess Krieger
New Harvest Research Fellow
Kent State University
2016 - 2018
John Pattison
New Harvest Board Director - CEO and Co-founder at Cultured Decadence
2018 - 2022
John Yuen
New Harvest Research Fellow
Tufts University
2018 - 2023
Jordan Jones
New Harvest Research Fellow
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Boston College
Boston College
2019 - 2022
Julian Cohen
New Harvest Seed Grantee
Tufts University
2020 - Present
Kaili Chen
New Harvest Seed Grantee
Tufts University
2019 - 2020
Karien Bezuidenhout 🇺🇲
New Harvest Board Director - Director at The Shuttleworth Foundation
2017 - 2023
Kate Krueger
Research Director
2017 - 2020
Lanto Hariveloniaina
Executive Assistant
2018 - 2022
Lisa Musgrove
New Harvest Seed Grantee
The University of the Sunshine Coast
2020 - Present
Matt Anderson-Baron
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of Alberta
2018
Meera Zassenhaus
Communications and Media Manager
2016 - 2022
Micheal McLellan
Dissertation Awardee
The Jackson Laboratory
Tufts University
Tufts University
2020 - 2021
Michela Caffrey
Content Production Manager
2018 - 2022
Morgan Catalina
Conference Producer
2016 - 2020
Morgan Ziegelski
Science Communication Intern
2020 - 2022
Natalie Rubio
New Harvest Research Fellow
Tufts University
2016 - 2022
New Harvest Board Director - Miranda Stahn 🇨🇦
Senior Business Partner, ACRC Alberta Innovates
2022-2024
Ricardo Gouveia
New Harvest Research Fellow
Newcastle University
2018 - 2022
Santiago Campuzano
New Harvest Research Fellow
New Harvest Seed Grantee
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of Ottawa
2017 - 2019
Scott Allan
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Bath
2017 - 2021
Scott Banister
New Harvest Board Director - Angel Investor
2015 - 2022
Shravya Mukka
New Harvest Seed Grantee
Pennsylvania State University
2021
Stephanie Bailey
Development Manager
2020 - 2022
Varsha Rao
New Harvest Dissertation Awardee
University of Colorado Boulder
2021 - 2023
Vicky Andriessen
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of Auckland
University of Twente
University of Twente
2020 - 2021
Vincent Sewalt 🇺🇲
New Harvest Board Director - Head of Science & Advocacy at IFF Global Regulatory Affairs
2016 - 2023
Zachary Cosenza
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of California, Davis
2019 - 2022
Zack Storms 🇨🇦
New Harvest Board Director - Co-Founder, Start-Up TNT
2022-2024
Board of Directors
Andras Forgacs 🇺🇲
Co-Founder and Director of Modern Meadow
Don Gerson 🇨🇦
CEO & President PnuVax
Dwayne Holmes
Director of Responsible Research & Innovation - EU
Geoff Burt 🇨🇦
CEO at the Consecon Foundation
Isha Datar
Executive Director
Lejjy Gafour 🇨🇦
President, CULT Food Science
Morgan Catalina
Conference Producer
2016 - 2020
Paige Wilcoxson
Chief Operating Officer
Simon Ongom
Financial Controller
Bre Duffy
Director of Responsible Research & Innovation - US
2020 - Present
Bre is New Harvest’s Director of Responsible Research & Innovation in the US and directs the New Harvest fellowship program. Bre is fascinated by tissue engineering and performed research on its applications in medicine for 8 years. Growing alarm over the environmental crisis and global food insecurity lead her to a passion for food systems and a transition into cellular agriculture. After completing a PhD in biomedical engineering from Tufts University, Bre joined the New Harvest team where she strives to use her scientific background to help build a more sustainable and equitable food system. In her free time, Bre is an avid gardener, with nearly 100 houseplants and a small urban garden, and is involved in sustainability initiatives for food and waste in her local area of New England.
Brittany Chambers
Director of Development
Britt joined New Harvest as our Director of Development after spending a decade raising funds for higher education, climate change, and food system transformation. Britt believes strongly in the power of collective action and authentic connection. Philanthropy should never be transactional, but instead deeply relational and transformational. Britt has worked in all facets of fundraising over the last ten years, raising tens of millions of dollars and building foundational fundraising teams, designing revenue streams, and nurturing relationships with hundreds of donors. Before transitioning to cell ag fundraising in 2017, Britt worked in higher education philanthropy and served as the Director of Development for a private liberal arts college in Upstate New York. Britt has a Masters Degree in Organizational Development and a Bachelors in History and Communications. Britt lives in Southern California with her partner, Eric, and her 2.5 year old daughter, Lily. She loves to spend her free time with her family in nature.
Dwayne Holmes
Director of Responsible Research & Innovation - EU
2021 - Present
Dwayne is New Harvest’s Director of Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI). With a background spanning the arts and sciences, he has long been fascinated by the intersection of science and culture. In 2010, during an MSc course involving stem cells, he recognised their potential for future food production. And in 2018, after earning a PhD for neuroscience related stem cell research, he debated starting his own cultured meat company or teaming up with one of the many others emerging at the time. The answer came in 2019 when he joined Mosa Meat, and headed their quality assurance and regulatory efforts for two years. Now at New Harvest, he hopes to broaden his efforts across the field, helping to ensure that cell ag technology reaches its full potential. In his spare time, Dwayne enjoys books, movies, and board games.
Isha Datar
Executive Director
2013 - Present
Isha is executive director of New Harvest, a nonprofit research institute that funds open, public cultured meat research. She has been pioneering cellular agriculture since 2009, driven by a passion to see transformative technology create a better world. In 2010, Isha published a review paper in the scientific journal Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, among the first handful of papers to ever discuss cultured meat in academic literature. After co-founding Muufri (now Perfect Day Foods) and Clara Foods (now The EVERY Company) in 2014, she transferred her founding equity to New Harvest and used it to establish an endowment for cell ag research. In 2015, Isha coined the term "cellular agriculture" — officially creating a category for agriculture products produced from cell cultures rather than whole plants or animals. Isha is a Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow and Director’s Fellow at the MIT Media Lab. Isha holds a BSc. in cell and molecular biology from the University of Alberta and a master's in biotechnology from the University of Toronto.
Paige Wilcoxson
Chief Operating Officer
2020 - Present
A psychologist, by training, Paige joined New Harvest after spending more than 10 years in higher and executive education as a professor, academic administrator, and learning experience designer. As Managing Director, Curriculum and Learning Design at Singularity University, she oversaw curriculum strategy and the design of programs focusing on exponential technology, innovation, and social impact for entrepreneurs, executives, and Fortune 500 companies. Paige has a strong background in systems thinking and operations improvement and she uses her unique background to create and grow positive organizational culture, processes, and experiences. Paige is the Secretary for the US, CAN, and NL Boards of Directors.
Simon Ongom
Financial Controller
Simon joined New Harvest in February 2022 as the Financial Controller. A CPA by training, Simon previously worked at charities and in hospitality. At New Harvest, Simon is responsible for overseeing New Harvest's day-to-day financial operations as well as ensuring that we are compliant with government regulations and tax laws in the countries and regions in which we operate. Simon is based in Cochrane Alberta and enjoys trying new foods (he especially loves Indian food!) and spending time with his family.
Yadira Tejeda-Saldana
Director of Responsible Research & Innovation - CA
2020 - Present
Yadira Tejeda-Saldana is our Director of Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI) in Canada. She brings to New Harvest not only her experience as a co-founder and former Executive Director of Cellular Agriculture Canada, but also as a food scientist trained in Mexico, The Netherlands and Canada. She has more than 10 years of experience working in the food industry, academia and non-profit sector. After her PhD in microbiological food safety research, she became fascinated by the intersection of science, policy and science communication. At New Harvest, Yadira is eager to combine her expertise and interests to build a transparent, safe, and equitable cell ag ecosystem that drives positive change in our food systems. Besides cell ag and food, Yadira is passionate about dog rescue and enjoys volunteering in her free time at a local rescue organization.
Alice Esperanza
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Bath 2021 - Present
Alice is a PhD student in Dr. Marianne Ellis's lab at the University of Bath. Ever since first hearing about cultured meat, she has hoped to leverage her BEng in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering to help tackle the scale-up of cultured meat production. Her research centers on establishing cheap and accessible primary cell isolation methods, with peripheral work on serum-free media and process design topics. Outside of the lab, Alice enjoys video and board games, movies, and reading (especially poetry!).
Boštjan Vihar
External Fellow
IRNAS 2018 - Present
Boštjan Vihar is a biomimetics and tissue engineering enthusiast. He develops protocols for tailor-made research tools and mediates communication between scientists and engineers. He obtained a PhD in natural sciences from RWTH Aachen University and currently holds a post-doc position at the University of Maribor. He loves tinkering in the lab and finding new ways of measuring biological phenomena.
Dawne Skinner
New Harvest Research Fellow
Dalhousie University 2021 - Present
Dawne is a New Harvest Fellow and PhD candidate in Industrial Engineering at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Dawne is a fellow of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and has expertise in circular and sustainable supply chains. Dawne's PhD research has been focused on using predictive analytics to optimize cellular agricultural supply chains, integrating circular economy opportunities where possible to reduce cost and environmental impacts of cultured meat production. She has published three peer-reviewed articles and book chapters focused on circular supply chains and modelling consumer demand for novel foods.
Frea Mehta
New Harvest Research Fellow
Technical University of Munich 2021 - Present
Frea is a New Harvest Fellow at the Technical University of Munich, in collaboration with the University of Southern California. Her project aims to create cultured meat tissues with diverse cellular identities and precise spatial geometries, such as muscle marbled with intramuscular fat, using synthetic biology and computational tools. Frea has been involved with cellular agriculture in both academic and industrial contexts; she studied bovine adipose cells and intramuscular fat as a Fulbright research grantee in Mark Post's group at Maastricht University, and, more recently, worked on cell biology and bioprocessing for cultured seafood as a scientist at Bluu Biosciences. She holds degrees in molecular biology and chemical engineering from Arizona State University.
Irfan Tahir
New Harvest Research Fellow
The University of Vermont 2021 - Present
Irfan Tahir is a PhD candidate, lab safety officer, and New Harvest fellow at the Engineered Biomaterials Research Lab at the University of Vermont where he is tissue engineering 3D scaffolds for cultured meat. Previously, Irfan studied at Bilkent University in Turkey and the University of Minnesota in the USA for his bachelor’s and master's in mechanical engineering. Irfan’s hometown is Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Personal website: www.irfantahir.com
Jannis Wollschlaeger
New Harvest Research Fellow
Reutlingen University 2019 - 2021
Jannis was born 1995 in Ulm, Germany. In October 2013 he started with his study of Industrial Biotechnology (Bachelor of Science) at the University of applied Science in Biberach (Germany), before he continued 2017 with his master´s degree (Industrial Biotechnology at the University Ulm/University Biberach). 2019 he was finished with his studies and started in September at the Reutlingen Research Institute of the University Reutlingen, receiving the New Harvest Fellowship grant in December the same year.
Jernej Vajda
External Fellow
Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor
IRNAS 2020 - Present
IRNAS 2020 - Present
Jernej Vajda is a Young Researcher from Slovenia who began his PhD studies in 2020 at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor. He is collaborating with the IRNAS institute on a project to develop a modular perfusion bioreactor. While IRNAS is working on technological development, Jernej provides biological use case scenarios for testing the hardware. The next phase of the project will be a long-term collaboration between New Harvest, IRNAS and the Faculty of Medicine with the aim to create a multi-modal platform for gradient-based research and analysis of complex 3D structures, where his work will focus on testing the platform for microvascular tissue engineering applications, which will also be the topic of his PhD thesis.
Kai Steinmetz
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Auckland
The Riddet Institute 2019 - Present
The Riddet Institute 2019 - Present
Kai comes from a structural biology background. His final year research project spanned from carrying out in vivo assays on E. coli to production, purification, and crystallization of proteins, which trained him in a variety of analytical and preparative techniques. After completing his degree, he was employed at the University of Frankfurt, a.M. for DNA and protein work, while staying on the lookout for opportunities to apply his skills to cellular agriculture. His current research aims to create serum-free and cost-effective growth and differentiation media for clean meat production.
Lily Westerhoff
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Bath 2020 - Present
Lily's research, supervised by Dr. Marianne Ellis, is investigating the feasibility and desirability of continuous processes for cultured meat production. She is using techno-economic modeling in Python to evaluate whether or not the increased space-time yields of continuous, steady-state processing are economically advantageous. Due to the impact of different bioreactor designs on the evaluation of continuous processing, she is also using computational fluid dynamics to predict the theoretical scalability and productivity constraints of cell expansion in the hollow-fiber bioreactor. Cultured meat has long intrigued Lily and was the motivation behind her acquiring a B.S. in biological engineering and taking the opportunity to work in Dr. Mark Post's lab at Maastricht University for a summer in 2015.
Luka Banović
External Fellow
IRNAS 2018 - Present
Luka Banović is fascinated by the comprehensive experience that product development offers. He works at IRNAS LTD as an engineering project manager and product developer. IRNAS works together with scientists to adapt and develop custom technology for their specific applications. Luka is an alumnus from Southampton University (UK) and University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria.
Mia Keyser
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Colorado Boulder 2021 - Present
Mia Keyser is currently a Biological Engineering PhD Student at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering with an additional major in Biomedical Engineering and specialization in Cellular Manipulation from Carnegie Mellon University and her M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. Mia's current PhD research focuses on engineering growth factors for cheaper, better, and longer-lasting biosynthetic media formulations for both proliferation and differentiation of cell cultures of food-relevant species. Her research project spans across computational modelling to protein engineering to tissue engineering to iPSC work. As a life-long cellular agriculture enthusiast and a leader of The Boulder Alt. Protein Project, a student organization initiative by the Good Food Institute, she has a broad knowledge of the growing alternative protein space and is excited to be part of this growing community. Mia is thrilled to be working on projects that will help revolutionize the US food production infrastructure through the widespread integration of cellular agriculture.
Richard Thyden
New Harvest Research Fellow
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Boston College 2020 - Present
Boston College 2020 - Present
Rick is a PhD student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute studying in vitro meat production, scalable bioreactor systems, and tissue mechanics. Rick is originally from Sutton Massachusetts and has lived in Worcester since 2012. In 2016, Rick designed a system that facilitated decellularization and recellularization of plant tissue as a vascularized scaffold for heart regeneration. He graduated from WPI with his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2016. He has since worked in developing novel sutures, blood management, twin screw extrusion, fabrication, and most recently decellularization. Since returning to WPI, Rick has been passionately involved in cellular agriculture, plant based scaffolds, bioreactors and algal culture.
Samuel Peabody
New Harvest Research Fellow
Texas Tech University 2019 - Present
Samuel S. Peabody IV, is an active researcher in Food Safety Applications for Cell Cultured Foods at Texas Tech University (TTU). Prior to this he earned a Master's of Science at TTU investigating the performance of antimicrobial acids against Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat roasted lamb and smoked turkey matrices. Outside of the lab, Sam is an active learner, gamer, b-movie watcher, and sci fi/fantasy fan.
Sophie Letcher
New Harvest Research Fellow
Tufts University 2020 - Present
Sophie is a PhD candidate and New Harvest Research Fellow at the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture in Dr. David Kaplan’s lab. Before Tufts, she attended Kenyon College and graduated in 2018 with a B.A. in Neuroscience. After graduation, she spent two years working as a technical research assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. During this time, she realized her desire to research sustainable solutions using biology, found New Harvest, and became fascinated with cellular agriculture. Her research at Tufts focuses on developing muscle and fat cell lines from various insect species and exploring how non-traditional cell sources can advance cellular agriculture. She is also involved with teaching lecture and laboratory-based cellular agriculture courses at Tufts.
Stephanie Kawecki
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of California, Los Angeles 2019 - Present
Stephanie is currently a New Harvest Fellow and doctoral student in bioengineering at UCLA where she is working in Dr. Amy Rowat's laboratory. Her project focuses on developing composite scaffolds to efficiently proliferate and differentiate muscle and fat, with the ultimate goal of engineering tasty and 3D marbled cultured meat! Stephanie has been involved with New Harvest since 2017 where she volunteered in the past three conferences, and was ultimately awarded a New Harvest Fellowship in 2019.
Ted O'Neill
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of California, Davis 2019 - Present
Ted is a current Ph.D. student in Food Science & Technology and a longtime follower of a plant-based diet with a passion for alternative protein foods. Ted is working with Profs. David Block and Keith Baar to address some of the challenges facing the commercialization of cultivated meat, and to establish a community of alternative protein researchers at UC Davis. Specifically, his research aims to characterize the nutrient requirements of cultivated chicken cells to identify more efficient plant-based media formulations. He is also investigating whether the nutritional qualities of cultivated meat can be improved in comparison to traditional meat products.
Vanessa Haley-Benjamin
New Harvest Research Fellow
Newcastle University 2020 - Present
Over the past 20 years, Vanessa has worked for environmental non-profits, academia, governmental agencies, within tourism, & as a marine scientist. Her Master’s research, at Florida International University, studied the migration of bonefish & she subsequently received the Marine Scientist Award from The Government of The Bahamas. Her current doctorate research, at The University of Auckland, is funded by New Harvest Institute, & The Lyford Cay Foundation’s Fiona Albek Award. Her research objectives are to analyze stem cell marker expression of embryonic & larvae tissue in abalone & oyster, to establish their culture conditions, & to investigate the characteristics of cell development & gene expression of adult molluscan muscle tissue.
Abi Glencross
New Harvest Research Fellow
King's College London 2015-2017
Abi Glencross was New Harvest's very first fellow. She graduated with a MEng Chemical Engineering from the University of Bath in 2014. Abi co-founded The Sustainable Food Story, co-runs the online magazine ONIN London, and has previous experience in events management, PR and social media. Abi currently also works at Duchess Farms, where she manages a site in Hertfordshire.
Alexis Garrett
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Nebraska, Lincoln 2020 - 2022
Alexis is a graduate student in Mechanical and Materials Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln under the supervision of Dr. Michael Sealy. As part of Nebraska's dual degree program, she plans to complete her Masters in Material Science at the University of Rouen and PhD at UNL. During Alexis's undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering, her primary domains of interest were biomechanics, controls, and additive manufacturing. She has also gained some experience in primary bio/additive manufacturing techniques with Drs. Sealy and Tamayol. Her graduate research interests are in rapid vat polymerization of tissue engineered constructs for protein using edible photo-initiatiors.
Andrew Stout
New Harvest Research Fellow
Tufts University 2017 - 2023
Andrew is a PhD student and New Harvest Fellow at Dr. David Kaplan's tissue engineering lab at Tufts University. At Tufts, Andrew's work focuses on genetic strategies for generating and optimizing cell lines for cultured meat applications, with specific focus on cultured meat nutrition and bioprocess metrics. Before Tufts, Andrew worked at Geltor, Inc., where he helped to develop microbial strains for recombinant collagen production, and in Dr. Mark Post's lab at Maastricht University, where he studied edible biomaterials for cultured meat scaffolding. Andrew holds a B.S. in Materials Science from Rice University.
Ashton Davis
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of California, Los Angeles 2021
Ashton is a master’s student in the Chemistry & Biochemistry department at the University of California: Los Angeles (UCLA). His fascination with all things food related eventually led him to the Rowat Lab at UCLA where he works on microcarrier fabrication and growth factor adsorption with the goal of reducing costs when upscaling cultured meat production. When not in the lab or the kitchen tinkering with new recipes, Ashton is hunting for a great piece of cheese, polishing his gardening skills, or looking for the next adventure!
Bianca Datta
New Harvest Dissertation Awardee
2021 - 2022
Bianca just finished her PhD at the Media Lab, where she explored bio-inspired materials design and interfaces. She focused on bio-inspired optical structures for generating structural color, through combined computational design and fabrication through colloidal self-assembly and laser processing of materials. She has previously worked on development of holographic video devices, synthesis of quantum dots, and responsive material systems for mediated cell growth. She has a strong interest in sustainability, conservation, and circular material systems. She is also interested in scientific communication and representation for education and public engagement, as well as diversity and inclusion efforts in the Media Lab and across MIT. She graduated with a BS & MS in Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in 2014. Outside of the lab, she serves as a Graduate Community fellow developing and organizing programs for graduate women, as a Graduate Resident Advisor in an undergraduate hall, and as a mentor for Minds Matter in Boston. She enjoys running, and is slowly learning ceramics!
Brodie Peace
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of Melbourne 2021
Brodie is a graduate of the University of Melbourne's Bachelor of Science, where he majored in medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry. Inspired by the incredible potential of cellular agriculture to revolutionise the world’s food systems, he has directed his career to Food Science. Working under the supervision of meat scientists at the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, Brodie is conducting cultivated meat research as part of the Future Food Hallmark Research Initiative. His research project is focusing on identifying affordable and safe reagents that can enhance this step.
Cameron Semper
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Calgary 2019 - 2022
Cameron has extensive experience in the fields of protein biochemistry and fungal genetics. His past work has focused on using microbes to reduce the cost of serum-free growth media, media optimization for fish cell culture, and engineering filamentous fungi for precision fermentation applications. He also works as a structural biologist and has years of experience consulting within the field of cellular agriculture.
Clarisse Beurrier
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of Cambridge 2020 - 2021
Clarisse is a graduate researcher in Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. She holds a BSc in Biological Sciences & Management from Imperial College London and has previously worked for Higher Steaks, which made the world's 1st cell-based pork. Clarisse also has wide experience as a sustainability consultant in firms such as Sandvik, Ethifinance & Sustainable Seaweed. She organized the world's first Cellular Agriculture Hackathon and is a lead author of the world's first Cellular Agriculture textbook. In Cambridge, she also acts as the Business and Science advisor of the Cellular Agriculture Society.
Daniel Peterson
New Harvest Seed Grantee
Northeastern University 2019
Dan is a former seed grant recipient who worked on a project to isolate muscle stem cells from crustaceans.
Emily Soice
Research Intern
2020
Emily is an MIT biology, environmental engineering, and music major graduating in 2020, and a past Research Intern at New Harvest. After interning at New Harvest, she co-founded Cell Ag @ MIT, a student group devoted to making MIT an innovation and research hub for cellular agriculture. She is passionate about how food connects us to our environment and how we can improve these relationships. Prior to New Harvest, she worked in the fermentation company Geltor to improve analysis of their cultured collagen and in the Marelli lab to engineer soil microbiomes for resilient agriculture. When not studying or playing violin, she loves exploring all things food, from trying new fermentation recipes to learning about different culinary cultures.
Erin Kim
Communications Director
2016 - 2018
Erin Kim is Communications Director at Geltor. She was previously the first Communications Director at New Harvest, where she began as a volunteer throughout her time in law school before joining the team full-time in New York City. Erin earned her BA from the University of British Columbia and her law degree from the University of Alberta.
Gabrielle Floratos
Science Communications Intern
2020 - 2021
Gaby is a Communications Intern at New Harvest who joined the team right out of high school during her gap year. She focuses on creating content for New Harvest and helping manage various New Harvest social media.
Gilonne d'Origny
Chief Development Officer
2015 - 2016
Gilonne d’Origny is Translational Advisor to the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, assisting with developing cellular agriculture capabilities. She acts as Principal for Planet A, a cellular agriculture and vegan consultancy for investors. She was the Chief Development Officer at New Harvest, and before then, she worked at Citi, developing bonds for good, in private equity on green tech, at Columbia University on translating climate science for Wall Street and the High Street. Her career has focused on bringing climate and social values to the core of business models in finance and business, as well as on systems change, including new technologies, particularly cellular agriculture. Gilonne is the co-founder of a startup that develops tools to help people recover from trauma.
Han Zhang
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of British Columbia 2017 - 2018
Han got involved with New Harvest as the recipient of its first undergraduate project sponsorship for the Modular Bioreactor project while studying Engineering Physics at the University of British Columbia. After graduating with distinction, Han has gone on to work as a mechanical/electrical/microfabrication engineer at biotechnology startups Neuralink and Celldom.
Jake Marko
New Harvest Seed Grantee
Tufts University 2020 - 2021
Jake’s interest in cellular agriculture was peaked during his junior year at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering. He developed a passion for supporting the environment and yearned to fulfill that purpose with his engineering toolkit. When Jake learned about cellular agriculture, it seemed like a perfect fit. After finding that the Gaudette Lab at WPI was exploring this field, he applied for a New Harvest seed grant to start a project. Jake hopes to continue this research in a Ph.D. program and eventually enter the world of academia as a professor. He is also passionate about cooking and aims to help bring cellular agriculture products into the culinary world.
Jeremiah Johnston
Research Program Director
2019 - 2022
Jeremiah began working at New Harvest at around the end of 2019 and assumed the role of Research Program Director in June of 2020. Before New Harvest, he worked either directly in or adjacent to science education, teaching a biomedical engineering course for high school students during the summers and taking freelance jobs in science publishing whenever he wasn’t. Jeremiah never wants to stop learning and is motivated by work that has an impact beyond his life alone. The work at New Harvest -- the chance to engage with researchers and the research they do -- is what brings him to work each day (virtually or otherwise).
Jess Krieger
New Harvest Research Fellow
Kent State University 2016 - 2018
Jess Krieger has been working toward bringing cultivated meat to consumers for 10 years. She was the first person in the world to start a PhD to research cultivated meat, which she received from Kent State University after researching bioreactor development for cellular agriculture scale-up. Jess is the co-founder of Artemys Foods and the innovator behind the Artemys Burger, made of cultivated beef. Most recently, she co-founded Ohayo Valley, a cultivated meat company making steak.
John Pattison
New Harvest Board Director - CEO and Co-founder at Cultured Decadence
2018 - 2022
John Pattison is the co-founder and CEO of Cultured Decadence, a Wisconsin-based cellular agriculture company using cell culture and tissue engineering to create seafood, specifically shellfish products, directly from cells. The company aims to produce a variety of products to help address the growing demand for nutritious, safe, and sustainable seafood worldwide. Previously he served as an Army officer with the 25th Infantry Division and worked in the US and China in various operations and consulting roles for financial, agricultural, and consumer goods clients. John received his BA in Economics from UW-Milwaukee and MBA from NYU-Stern. He formerly served as New Harvest's Treasurer and sat on the Board of Directors.
John Yuen
New Harvest Research Fellow
Tufts University 2018 - 2023
Near the end of his undergraduate-masters degree at the University of California San Diego, John was thinking about what he should do with his life. Insipired to think about improving the environment by one his professors, Milton Saier, he suddenly thought of generating meat via tissue engineering as a potential solution to the climate impact of animal agriculture/meat consumption. A ha! He'd be famous, he thought. A brief search online later, he found that it was an idea already being pursued, but thought that it would be good to enter the field and help it develop in some way. Thus, he found the fledgling Cellular Agriculture group in the David Kaplan Laboratory at Tufts University and applied for his PhD, where he resides today.
Jordan Jones
New Harvest Research Fellow
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Boston College 2019 - 2022
Boston College 2019 - 2022
Jordan received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). At WPI, he worked on numerous research projects focused on cardiac regeneration, decellularization, and designed bioreactor systems. After graduating from WPI, Jordan worked in the medical device industry from 2016 to 2018. He then returned to WPI to pursue a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. Shortly after returning to WPI, Jordan became a New Harvest research fellow. He is currently working on developing lab-grown meat. Jordan uses decellularized plant tissues to form a vascularized scaffold suitable for 3D bioengineered tissues, including structured meats such as steak.
Julian Cohen
New Harvest Seed Grantee
Tufts University 2020 - Present
Julian Cohen is a Biophysics major at Pitzer College, and a visiting undergraduate researcher at Tufts University. Working in the Kaplan Lab on a New Harvest Seed Grant, Julian is investigating how the addition of intermediate fusion proteins might increase the adhesion of bovine satellite cells cultured onto cellulose-based scaffolds. Julian is passionate about finding inspiration in the natural world and developing biotechnology that will change the way food is produced, while critically analyzing food systems to empower agricultural communities and improve food access. In his free time, you can find Julian playing pick-up soccer, watching stand-up comedy, and enjoying a good cup of tea.
Kaili Chen
New Harvest Seed Grantee
Tufts University 2019 - 2020
Kaili Chen is a recent graduate from Tufts University where she studied Biology and International Relations (Global Health, Nutrition, and the Environment concentration). At Tufts, Kaili worked in the Kaplan Lab under the mentorship of Natalie Rubio. There, she evaluated the efficacy of decellularized mycelium as a working scaffold through collaborations with Ecovative Labs and Texture Technologies. Committed to promoting a One Health approach, Kaili hopes to continue to work at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health.
Karien Bezuidenhout 🇺🇲
New Harvest Board Director - Director at The Shuttleworth Foundation
2017 - 2023
Karien Bezuidenhout is an advocate for openness and supporter of social entrepreneurs. She has played various roles within the Shuttleworth Foundation as its Director, and now focuses on the Fellowship Program. She is a native of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, and the smell of rain after a dry spell still makes her think of home. She believes elephants have noble hearts and is passionate about their protection and conservation. It is rare for a meme to pass her by, she always knows what's up in the collective mind of the Internet. Karien studied business and economics at the business schools of the University of Stellenbosch and University of Cape Town.
Kate Krueger
Research Director
2017 - 2020
Kate Krueger is the founder of Helikon Consulting, a boutique firm that specializes in synthetic biology, alternative proteins, and high-tech food. She works with foundations, corporations, and investors to bring 21st century biotechnology to food innovation. As former Research Director at New Harvest, Kate led all scientific initiatives and served as the organization's chief technical expert on fermentation for protein production and cell-based meat. Before New Harvest, she worked at Perfect Day Foods, contributing to their foundational patent on novel milk proteins. Kate holds a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Yale University and an A.B. in Biochemistry from Mount Holyoke College.
Lanto Hariveloniaina
Executive Assistant
2018 - 2022
Lanto joined New Harvest in 2018 and brings international experience from his career as educational and cultural exchange program coordinator for Madagascar targeting academics, scientists, government officials, youth leaders and activists. After graduating with a degree in Anglophone Studies from the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar, Lanto spent 27 years coordinating the U.S. Department of State's educational and cultural exchange programs including the Fulbright program. His tenure at the U.S. Embassy equipped him with a thorough understanding of program management and administrative support operations, especially contract, grant, and database management. Lanto is fluent in Malagasy, English and French.
Lisa Musgrove
New Harvest Seed Grantee
The University of the Sunshine Coast 2020 - Present
Lisa is currently a BS (Honours) student working on crayfish growth factors and cell culture – a niche that fits well with the resources at her Uni and current shortfalls in cell-based crustacean meat research. She also has a BA (Geography/History) and has worked in Customer Relations, Quality Assurance, Systems Management and IT Support. She’s been passionate about Cell Ag since 2017. Not only does she now get to do research, but she also works as Secretary at Cellular Agriculture Australia with an amazing team of like-minded Cell Ag champions. Besides Cell Ag, Lisa loves all animals (esp. large dogs), jogging to biology podcasts and concocting plant-based creations for her awesome Guinea pigs, ahem, family.
Matt Anderson-Baron
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of Alberta 2018
Dr. Matt Anderson-Baron is a founder and the CEO of Future Fields, a Canadian biotech company that makes cost-effective and scalable growth factors for cell ag production. He obtained his PhD in cell biology at the University of Alberta. Following his graduate studies, Matt held a postdoctoral position in one of Canada's top tissue engineering labs. During his graduate studies, Matt was the recipient of a New Harvest seed grant to study the lipid components of fetal bovine serum. While the majority of his academic career was spent in disease-based research, his passion for science and love of animals inspired his pursuit of cellular agriculture.
Meera Zassenhaus
Communications and Media Manager
2016 - 2022
Meera learned about cell ag in the bowels of animal rights internet as a tween and has been obsessed ever since. She translates research developments into accessible content in meat and cyberspace, and works to make sure the world understands New Harvest's always-changing work. Prior to working at New Harvest full time, she was a summer intern and helped plan New Harvest's inaugural conference. Meera has a BA in Economics and Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis. She likes Taco Bell and being on wheels of any kind.
Micheal McLellan
Dissertation Awardee
The Jackson Laboratory
Tufts University 2020 - 2021
Tufts University 2020 - 2021
Mike is a 6th year Ph.D. student completing his dissertation research at Jackson Labs as part of the Rosenthal Laboratory. His research focuses on high-resolution analysis of cardiac tissue, as well as the development of novel cardiac tissue culture models. As part of New Harvest, he is generating a trophic support cell which will be engineered to produce soluble growth factors to support the growth of various muscle cell types in culture. Ultimately, he aims to characterize intercellular signaling within muscle tissue and utilize that knowledge to improve muscle tissue culture for cellular agriculture.
Michela Caffrey
Content Production Manager
2018 - 2022
Michela Caffrey is the Content Production Manager at New Harvest. She officially joined the team after having worked on design as an intern and volunteer for the 2018 and 2019 New Harvest conferences, respectively. Michela is fascinated by the field of science communication and uses her graphic design knowledge to promote cellular agriculture.
Morgan Catalina
Conference Producer
2016 - 2020
Morgan Catalina (US/NL) is an Amsterdam-based curator, educator and producer with a keen interest in communication and intersectionality. She has been the Producer of the New Harvest conference since it was founded in 2016, to help create community and conversation within the emerging field of cellular agriculture. Previously she was Executive Producer of SXSW Eco, where she first discovered New Harvest, as well as co-founder of the SXSW Art Program. Currently her work as independent curator revolves around creating the right context to establish meaningful connections between creatives, organizations and the general public. In all her projects, she aims to draw people into a dialogue about urgent topics facing today’s society, by translating abstract concepts into shared experiences. Morgan is currently studying to become a certified holistic sexuality educator while continuing to organize thought-provoking events at the crossroads of art, science, and technology.
Morgan Ziegelski
Science Communication Intern
2020 - 2022
Morgan Ziegelski is a former Science Communications Intern at New Harvest. She is from Chicago, IL and currently attends the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA, from where she will receive a BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2023 and an MS in Bioengineering in 2024. In addition to her work with New Harvest, Morgan has worked under Prof. Rachel Chen at Georgia Tech researching oligosaccharide synthesis biocatalysis and pathway engineering and under Prof. Andres Garcia at Georgia Tech researching PEG hydrogel scaffolds for the synthesis of human intestinal organoids. In her free time, Morgan likes taking care of her houseplants and sings alto in choir.
Natalie Rubio
New Harvest Research Fellow
Tufts University 2016 - 2022
Natalie received her B.S. Chemical & Biological Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2015 and her PhD in Biomedical Engineering/Cellular Agriculture from Tufts in 2021. Natalie previously worked at New Harvest, Perfect Day Foods and Quartzy. While a New Harvest Fellow, Natalie's research focused on (1) applying tissue engineering strategies to invertebrate (i.e., insect) cell platforms and (2) fabricating edible scaffold systems for 3D culture of muscle and fat cells with a goal of lowering barriers for the commercialization of cultured meat. After completing her degree, she served as a cellular agriculture scientists and later the Head of Process Science at Ark Biotech. She is now an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA).
New Harvest Board Director - Miranda Stahn 🇨🇦
Senior Business Partner, ACRC Alberta Innovates
2022-2024
Miranda has spent her career working within the local and national innovation ecosystem, helping technology move through commercialization pipelines, and get into the hands of the right people (be it investors, government funders or ecosystem enablers) at the right time. Throughout her career, she has supported the development of several major multi-million dollar funding applications, including the CFI-MSIs, Genome Canada's Large Scale Applied Research Program, and several tri-council applications. Recently she has pivoted her career into science communications and knowledge translation, running her freelance writing and copyediting consulting business, which specifically supports SMEs, not-for-profits, and other organizations with technical foundations effectively communicate their objectives to broader and more diverse audiences. Miranda holds a BSc in Cell Biology and MSc in Chemical Engineering, with a research focus on phage systems, synthetic biology, and bioprocessing.
Ricardo Gouveia
New Harvest Research Fellow
Newcastle University 2018 - 2022
Ricardo is a scientist and entrepreneur based in Newcastle, UK, whose expertise includes Cell Biology, Tissue Engineering, and Biomaterials. A biologist with a PhD in Biochemistry from the NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal, he joined the Connon Lab in 2012, developing smart in vitro strategies to better control stem cells and recreate tissues with nativelike structure and function. His work received several accolades, and is published prominently (Nature, Biomaterials). As a New Harvest Fellow since 2018, he is keen to advance the Cell Ag field, developing new methods to produce structured meat. He is also the CSO of 3D Bio-Tissues, a spin-out company he co-founded in 2019 to translate his inventions into the food and healthcare markets.
Santiago Campuzano
New Harvest Research Fellow
New Harvest Seed Grantee
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of Ottawa 2017 - 2019
Santiago Campuzano, a former Research Fellow, received his MSc from the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Andrew Pelling. While at the Pelling Lab, Santiago’s research demonstrated how celery can be repurposed as animal-free scaffolding capable of recreating alignment of skeletal muscle cells in vitro. Now residing in Vancouver, Santiago currently works as a Bioengineer at STEMCELL Technologies. Santiago is also an active member of the Open Science Network, a local community lab devoted to educating community members and facilitating multidisciplinary collaborations.
Scott Allan
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of Bath 2017 - 2021
Scott Allan is a New Harvest Research Fellow and PhD student in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Bath. Scott’s research focuses on bioreactor design for scaling cultured meat production. He is working on defining the fundamental stoichiometric and kinetic data for the expansion of muscle cells in hollow fiber bioreactors. In his free time he enjoys being outdoors and as active as possible or relaxing with a good cup of coffee.
Scott Banister
New Harvest Board Director - Angel Investor
2015 - 2022
Scott Banister is an American entrepreneur and angel investor. He co-founded enterprise anti-spam company IronPort Systems (acquired by Cisco) and group invitations app IRL.com, and has served as a board member at PayPal, Powerset (acquired by Microsoft), Slide (acquired by Google), Topsy (acquired by Apple), Postmates (acquired by Uber), and Da Vinci Schools. Scott currently sits on the board at New Harvest.
Shravya Mukka
New Harvest Seed Grantee
Pennsylvania State University 2021
Shravya Mukka is a graduate student in the Food Science department of The Pennsylvania University. Shravya is the recipient of the Skip and Marilyn Rosskam Graduate Fellowship in Food Science. She holds a Master's in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, and a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from India. Shravya has 8 years of Project Management experience in the railway industry, after which she decided to switch back to academics to pursue her passion in Food Science.
Stephanie Bailey
Development Manager
2020 - 2022
Stephanie is New Harvest’s Development Manager. With a background in university advancement, she is passionate about the power of research to drive long-term societal change. Stephanie is thrilled to use her skills in communications and donor relations to help connect people to New Harvest’s mission. She looks forward to forging meaningful and long-term relationships with New Harvest’s enthusiastic and growing community of supporters. (Seriously, she can’t wait to meet you – reach out anytime: stephanie.b@new-harvest.org!) Stephanie has a bachelor’s degree in English and Film Studies from the University of Alberta, and a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Victoria.
Varsha Rao
New Harvest Dissertation Awardee
University of Colorado Boulder 2021 - 2023
Varsha Rao is Ph.D. Candidate in Chemical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder working in the Anseth Research Group. Her dissertation research focuses on engineering porous hydrogel scaffolds to study and direct the secretome of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). During her time with New Harvest, she plans to use similar material systems to explore the influence of cell clustering and soft mechanical cues on MSC adipocyte differentiation. Eventually, she aims to design culture platforms optimized to biophysically bias MSCs towards adipogenesis, potentially decreasing the amount of chemical induction needed to produce cultivated fat.
Vicky Andriessen
New Harvest Seed Grantee
University of Auckland
University of Twente 2020 - 2021
University of Twente 2020 - 2021
Vicky is investigating the potential of sheep as a cell source for cultured meat applications, by determining the cells’ properties in both 2D and 3D, at the University of Auckland. She has a background in biomedical engineering with a focus on tissue engineering, and during a five-month internship at Mosa Meat in 2019 she gained her first experience in the cultured meat field. Through extracurricular courses in food technology she gained fundamental knowledge about muscle tissue as a food product. She is extremely passionate about cultured meat, and determined to do anything in her power to bring it to the market as soon as possible.
Vincent Sewalt 🇺🇲
New Harvest Board Director - Head of Science & Advocacy at IFF Global Regulatory Affairs
2016 - 2023
Vince Sewalt leads the Regulatory Science & Advocacy function of DuPont’s Nutrition & Biosciences business unit. A graduate education rooted in agriculture in the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, the Dominican Republic and the US, combined with post-doctoral research in biotechnology in Canada and the US prepared Sewalt well for a holistic approach in bioscience innovation in several US companies. Vince is passionate about ‘appropriate technology’ for a sustainable food supply, and this includes capacity building in safety assessment and regulatory oversight for bioscience applications around the globe. Throughout his career, Vince has served as advisor to a variety of organizations, including oversees development volunteers, college programs, think tanks, and even NASA. He readily shares his insights in conferences, publications, and round table workshops, and with trade associations and regulatory agencies. Vince also enjoys mentoring, good conversations, reading, learning, hiking, cycling, exploring new music, and watching Dutch soccer. Last but not least, Vince is a proud father of four and grandfather.
Zachary Cosenza
New Harvest Research Fellow
University of California, Davis 2019 - 2022
While at University of California, Davis, Zachary worked on computational tools for design optimization and parameter estimation using optimal experimental design, machine learning, Bayesian optimization, and other statistical learning methods for design of cell growth media for bioprocesses in cell-based meat industry. After completing his fellowship, Zachary worked as an Applied Machine Learning Postdoctoral Scholar at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Zack Storms 🇨🇦
New Harvest Board Director - Co-Founder, Start-Up TNT
2022-2024
Dr Storms is a scientist turned entrepreneur who founded Startup TNT, an environment that creates a safe space for like-minded entrepreneurs to make positive impacts. With his catchphrase "Have fun, make friends, build companies," he nurtures innovators in Edmonton, bringing people together and turning technologies into impactful businesses.
Andras Forgacs 🇺🇲
Co-Founder and Director of Modern Meadow
2020 - Present
Andras is an entrepreneur in deep tech and life sciences. He founded Modern Meadow working to transform the world of materials by unlocking the power of nature for a healthier planet. Modern Meadow’s Bio-Alloy biomaterials are inspired by leather and made from plant-derived protein but not from animals. Named as a 2018 Tech Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, Modern Meadow partners with some of the world’s most iconic brands to bring new life to the material world. Andras is also co-founder and chair of Fork & Goode innovating in cellular agriculture to produce delicious, nutritious and sustainable pork without animals. Previously, Andras co-founded Organovo which pioneered the use of 3D bio-printing to create human tissue for a range of biomedical applications. He managed an international technology-focused venture fund and was a consultant with McKinsey. He is co-founder and former chair of the Resolution Project focused on global social entrepreneurship, a Kauffman Fellow with the Center for Venture Education and was recognized as 40 under 40 by Crain’s New York. Andras graduated with a bachelors from Harvard and an MBA from Wharton. And his greatest venture are his two daughters Alexa and Amelia.
Don Gerson 🇨🇦
CEO & President PnuVax
Dwayne Holmes
Director of Responsible Research & Innovation - EU
2021 - Present
Dwayne is New Harvest’s Director of Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI). With a background spanning the arts and sciences, he has long been fascinated by the intersection of science and culture. In 2010, during an MSc course involving stem cells, he recognised their potential for future food production. And in 2018, after earning a PhD for neuroscience related stem cell research, he debated starting his own cultured meat company or teaming up with one of the many others emerging at the time. The answer came in 2019 when he joined Mosa Meat, and headed their quality assurance and regulatory efforts for two years. Now at New Harvest, he hopes to broaden his efforts across the field, helping to ensure that cell ag technology reaches its full potential. In his spare time, Dwayne enjoys books, movies, and board games.
Geoff Burt 🇨🇦
CEO at the Consecon Foundation
Geoff is the CEO of the Consecon Foundation, an environment-focused private charitable foundation. The foundation supports NGOs addressing various aspects of the climate and biodiversity crises. Geoff was previously the Executive Director of a think tank specializing in global security and conflict issues and a co-founder of a private sector consulting firm which provided research and project support to the US Department of State, the Government of Canada, and many international organizations and NGOs. Geoff also worked on security issues as a researcher at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He received an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University, as well as an MA in International Relations from the University of Toronto.
Isha Datar
Executive Director
2013 - Present
Isha is executive director of New Harvest, a nonprofit research institute that funds open, public cultured meat research. She has been pioneering cellular agriculture since 2009, driven by a passion to see transformative technology create a better world. In 2010, Isha published a review paper in the scientific journal Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, among the first handful of papers to ever discuss cultured meat in academic literature. After co-founding Muufri (now Perfect Day Foods) and Clara Foods (now The EVERY Company) in 2014, she transferred her founding equity to New Harvest and used it to establish an endowment for cell ag research. In 2015, Isha coined the term "cellular agriculture" — officially creating a category for agriculture products produced from cell cultures rather than whole plants or animals. Isha is a Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow and Director’s Fellow at the MIT Media Lab. Isha holds a BSc. in cell and molecular biology from the University of Alberta and a master's in biotechnology from the University of Toronto.
Lejjy Gafour 🇨🇦
President, CULT Food Science
Lejjy is co-founder and former CEO of YCombinator backed Cell Ag company, and is currently CEO of CULT Food Science , an innovative investment platform with an exclusive focus on advancing the development of novel technologies for cellular agriculture. Lejjy sees design and understanding complex systems as more than a simple set of practices, but as a operating principles. They are a base on which new ecosystems can actively better take into account our culture and societal patterns that can be influenced by the development of new technology platforms. By necessity and luck, he has learned, and continued to learn, in a multidisciplinary environment. He comes from a background that has focus on on human-centered design, research, enterprise architecture, iterative product development, strategy, biotechnology, and more.
Morgan Catalina
Conference Producer
2016 - 2020
Morgan Catalina (US/NL) is an Amsterdam-based curator, educator and producer with a keen interest in communication and intersectionality. She has been the Producer of the New Harvest conference since it was founded in 2016, to help create community and conversation within the emerging field of cellular agriculture. Previously she was Executive Producer of SXSW Eco, where she first discovered New Harvest, as well as co-founder of the SXSW Art Program. Currently her work as independent curator revolves around creating the right context to establish meaningful connections between creatives, organizations and the general public. In all her projects, she aims to draw people into a dialogue about urgent topics facing today’s society, by translating abstract concepts into shared experiences. Morgan is currently studying to become a certified holistic sexuality educator while continuing to organize thought-provoking events at the crossroads of art, science, and technology.
Paige Wilcoxson
Chief Operating Officer
2020 - Present
A psychologist, by training, Paige joined New Harvest after spending more than 10 years in higher and executive education as a professor, academic administrator, and learning experience designer. As Managing Director, Curriculum and Learning Design at Singularity University, she oversaw curriculum strategy and the design of programs focusing on exponential technology, innovation, and social impact for entrepreneurs, executives, and Fortune 500 companies. Paige has a strong background in systems thinking and operations improvement and she uses her unique background to create and grow positive organizational culture, processes, and experiences. Paige is the Secretary for the US, CAN, and NL Boards of Directors.
Simon Ongom
Financial Controller
Simon joined New Harvest in February 2022 as the Financial Controller. A CPA by training, Simon previously worked at charities and in hospitality. At New Harvest, Simon is responsible for overseeing New Harvest's day-to-day financial operations as well as ensuring that we are compliant with government regulations and tax laws in the countries and regions in which we operate. Simon is based in Cochrane Alberta and enjoys trying new foods (he especially loves Indian food!) and spending time with his family.